The Unexpected Visitor
by ravenhaired88
Summary: Just after being blinded in Tikrit and flown back to the United States, Auggie receives a visitor in his hospital room at Walter Reed. My own attempt at a background story for Auggie.
1. Chapter 1

**The Unexpected Visitor**

**Just after being blinded in Tikrit and flown back to the United States, Auggie receives a visitor in his hospital room at Walter Reed. My own attempt at a background story for Auggie.**

**disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with Covert Affairs. Not the characters, stories, etc. All belong to USA Network.**

**xxXxx**

Auggie was roused from his stupor by the voice of one of the nurses.

"Captain Anderson, you have a visitor."

"I told you, I don't want any-" he began, and would have worked himself up into a surely spectacular rant, when a quiet but familiar voice interrupted him.

"Auggie?"

Auggie paused. "Aidan? What are you doing here?"

He heard the nurse whisper something to his brother and then bustle away, followed by Aidan taking a couple of steps into the room.

"I'm listed as your emergency contact, remember?"

"Oh," was all Auggie could think to say. He had been so disoriented by all that had happened in the short time since Tikrit, so focused on his confusion and despair and anger, and on vacillating between keeping the news from his family for as long as possible and trying to figure out how to tell them, that he had forgotten the Army would automatically contact his brother when he was injured.

The two were silent for what felt like long, tense minutes to Auggie, until he finally asked, "Did they tell you…?"

"Yeah," Aidan answered when Auggie paused, trying to come up with the words. "They told me the basics. Explosion. Head injury. Severe trauma to the optic nerve. No sign of cognitive impairments, so that's good, I don't think you could afford that."

Auggie smiled weakly at his brother's joke. "So then… you know I'm blind?"

Auggie heard Aidan move further into the room and judged him to be about an arm's reach from his hospital bed.

"Yeah, Auggie, they told me the preliminary tests. And that they don't expect you to regain any vision in your right eye, but that as the swelling continues to come down you might regain some in your left."

Auggie scoffed quietly. "They told me basic light perception if I'm lucky, maybe a little bit of motion if I'm _really_ lucky." His hands fisted the blankets at his sides as a wave of anger passed through him, and he closed his eyes against the tears he felt pricking at them. "It's unusual, but it's been long enough… they don't expect much… recovery."

"Hey," Aidan said, shifting slightly closer and putting a hand on his arm. "You'll get through this. You'll grieve, you _need_ to grieve, but you'll get through this. You'll be ok."

"Aidan…" Auggie choked out. "I… what if I can't? The Army… The Company…"

Auggie felt his brother's hand travel down his arm to his hand and grip it, and he squeezed back.

"I know, Auggie. You're losing more than I ever really did. And I'm so, so sorry, Auggie, that you ended up sacrificing so much of yourself for this country."

The hot, angry tears he had been trying to hold back began slipping slowly down his cheeks, and Auggie took a deep, shuddering breath. He knew that of all people, Aidan would understand the best. He was the only one of his family he had ever read in, the only one who knew that although he was in Special Forces, he reported to the CIA, and had since he graduated from college five years ago.

They stayed like that for several minutes while Auggie quietly cried, occasionally letting out small gasps. Once he had composed himself, he swiped at his eyes with his free hand and casually stated, "They're sending me to rehab fairly soon, I guess they want me out of Walter Reed. They want me to pick a place, and they recommend being close to family."

Aidan obviously heard the hesitation in his voice at the end, because he replied, "You need to go wherever is best for you, Auggie. I know Aaron and Asher, would be happy to visit if you decide to go to Illinois. I would certainly be a regular if you ended up in the San Jose area, and I'm sure Alan would visit if you were near him. But I know you have a life in D.C., one that you might be hoping you could get back to eventually. No one will fault you if you decide to stay in the area. Sure, family support is important, but this is your life, and we'll be here for you as much as we can no matter where you end up."

"What about Aaron?"

Aidan said, "I'm sure he'll come around," and Auggie could hear the smile in his brother's voice.

Then Auggie frowned. "You haven't told any of them, have you?"

Aidan sighed. "No, I haven't. But they'll eventually figure out that something is wrong. Do you want me to tell them, or are you going to?"

Auggie hesitated before saying, "I will. I'll call them once I get to rehab." He paused for a moment, then blurted out, "What's it like?"

"You've asked me that before, Auggie," Aidan gently reminded him. "The answer hasn't changed."

"It hasn't?"

"No. Like I told you in high school, most of the time, I don't really notice. It's just there. Sometimes, it's a little annoying, maybe a little frustrating. On rare occasions, it's a huge inconvenience. But in the grand scheme of things, it's really not so bad."

Auggie's lips turned upward in the closest thing to a real smile since the explosion in Tikrit. "Thanks, A."

"Sure. I gotta get going, visiting hours end soon. But I'm in town for a couple more days. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Auggie answered. "See you."

His brother squeezed his hand one last time, and then released it. Auggie heard him moving away from the bed and the striking of his long cane against what was likely the door frame. Then his confident steps faded away down the hallway, accompanied by the sound of his cane sweeping back and forth in front of him.


	2. UPDATE

**UPDATE**

Hello! I just wanted to let the followers of this story know that I am continuing Auggie's backstory, but I have posted it under a different story, titled "The Glencoe Andersons."

Thanks! Keep reading and reviewing!


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